No More Pretending
by angelia-estella
Summary: Four years ago, the man she loved left her, shocked, alone and pregnant. Suddenly, he turns up but does she want him back? Kietro, Kyro
1. He's Back

Disclaimer – The characters belong to Marvel except little Alex.

Authoress- Okay, okay. I have two other stories hanging and no updates. I promise now that it's the hols, I'll do something about that. This was just a spur of the moment kind of thing but I hope it's good.

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"Good night, Alex." The young, slim brunette kissed the three year old boy's forehead.

"'Night, mommy," was the little boy's mumbled reply as he turned to face the wall, half-asleep already.

The young, single mother stood up and stretched, her actions cat-like. The doorbell rang, startling her. She glanced at her wrist-watch. It was almost midnight, who would want to bother her, especially at this hour?

Quietly, she slipped out of her son's room, leaving the door slightly open so that the light in the hallway flooded the small crack. Assured that her son was still asleep, she began to walk to the door. Unlatching the door, she opened it and gasped, "Pie… Pietro!"

His platinum white hair slicked back, a discreet earring twinkling in his left ear, his breathtaking smile, although slightly sheepish, Pietro Maximoff had grown from the eighteen year old heartbreaking bad boy into a confident, devastatingly handsome young man. Wherever he had disappeared to for four years had done him some good.

Pietro smirked and lightly closed her mouth with his index finger. "Nice impersonation of a guppy, Pryde. Did you miss me that much?"

Kitty Pryde immediately jerked back, as though stung by his touch. "How?"

Pietro shrugged. "Dropped by the Brotherhood just now, Wanda gave me your address so here I am," he smirked again, "Aren't you going to let me in?"

Somewhat speechless, Kitty hesitated. Seeing her hesitation, Pietro quickly pushed the door open before she could react. He looked at her expectantly. "The sitting room's on your left. I'll get us some drinks." She said, closing the door.

Yesterday if anyone had told her had told her that she would be drinking tea with Pietro late at night, she would have laughed at that thought. Right now, Kitty didn't really know how she felt.

Pietro watched his ex-girlfriend carefully. From the moment he came until now, Kitty had refrained from any contact with him. He noted that she flinched when he put a hand on her knee, trying to rouse her from her thoughts. From whatever information about Kitty he had managed to gather from Wanda, his twin sister, he knew that Kitty was still single. He couldn't understand why though. Kitty was beautiful, she definitely had no lack of suitors when he had left. Then again, that was four years ago, and Wanda had been evasive about answering most of his questions.

"Mommy?"

Kitty gasped, her face as white as his hair. There was someone else in this apartment. Kitty was already rushing to the door across the sitting room but Pietro was faster. He threw open the door, and stopped. A boy, not older than four probably, was rubbing his eyes sleepily. It wasn't his presence that shocked Pietro but it was the boy's appearance.

'This boy is my child,' the realization struck him. The platinum white hair, the blue eyes, although they were considerably lighter than his own, the boy even had the same sculpted face as Pietro. It was a spitting image of him.

A bit dazed, he stood by the door as Kitty picked him up. Immediately, the boy rested his head on Kitty's shoulder, eyes clouded in confusion when his gaze fell on Pietro. However, sleep claimed the boy before anything else happened.

Kitty felt herself flush. She was trying to hide Alex away from Pietro but that had not been successful. She laid her son back on his bed and tucked him in. Without meeting Pietro's gaze, she walked out of Alex's room, Pietro following her.

"That was my son." Pietro said. It was a statement, not a question.

Suddenly, Kitty felt exhausted. How she wished she could tell him otherwise. However, it was obvious who Alex's father was, after all Alex was practically a living clone of his father. Kitty nodded as she began clearing away the cups.

Pietro placed a hand on her arm. Noticing her shudder, he released her but took the tray and cups away from her. "You're tired. Let me do it."

Silence fell as Kitty watched Pietro place the cups in the dishwasher. "What's his name?"

Kitty looked at him, he saw a tiny flash of hurt pass through her eyes before she replied, "Alexander."

Then it struck Pietro. He had been dating Kitty for three months and they were very much in love. He remembered Kitty's giggles as they planned their future together, in the secrecy of the woods near the Brotherhood's home.

----flashback –-----

Pietro looked at the childish t-shirt Kitty was wearing and snorted.

"What?" Kitty asked, her eyes innocent.

"Meet Dumb, Ditzy, Daft and Dozy." Pietro closed his eyes and waved in the vague direction of Kitty's shirt.

"Huh. I wouldn't leave you to name the kids." Kitty said before she squealed.

Pietro had rolled on top of her. He kissed her softly. "I would leave all that to you, sweetheart."

They had kissed some more before Pietro finally got off her. Now Kitty was resting on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Alexander."

Pietro cracked open an eye. "What?"

"Our child. His name would be Alexander." Kitty explained.

"And how would you know if it was a boy?"

Kitty blushed. "Oh, you know," She cuddled him, "Just a hunch."

----end----

Pietro felt angry, hurt and shocked. For these past three years he had been in university, he had no idea that he had a son. Why didn't Kitty tell him?

'Ah, but she couldn't have. You left without warning, at your father's insistence. No one knew where you went.' A voice inside his head said nastily.

Pietro sighed, and gazed back at the door his son currently was. How could he be so thoughtless as to up and run away? Leaving Kitty with just a note saying he was gone and all the best to her?

"You know. The day I received your letter was the day I found out I was pregnant, but I couldn't tell you because no-one knew where you had gone." Kitty said, clearly understanding his questioning look at her.

Pietro coughed guiltily. "I … I didn't know. I would have come back if I had known."

Kitty laughed humorlessly. "I doubt that, Maximoff. I'm sure obeying your father would still be your first priority. Besides, I had been forewarned. Mr. Logan, Scott, even Lance warned me about this. I should have known better but I didn't care then. I had loved you and that was what mattered to me then."

Pietro stared at her, his turn to be speechless. She had called him Maximoff. It's been an extremely long time since Kitty had called him that. She _had_ loved him? Does that mean? His thoughts were cut off by Kitty.

"I'm tired. Perhaps you should go home, we'll talk another time." She said, walking to the door and opening it for him.

Clearly, this conversation was over. Pietro badly wanted to hug or kiss her but seeing her now, it was better that he did not. "I'll see you later, Kitty." He murmured as he passed her.


	2. Jealousy?

Although it was already past two am, Pietro could not sleep. The shock of seeing his child had given him insomnia. He sighed deeply. He turned to face his bedside table. A worn, faded photo was propped up against the lamp.

It was taken at the Brotherhood during Christmas, the year he and Kitty got together. He smiled at the photo. They didn't have a care in the world then. According to Wanda, who grudgingly agreed, that they did make a good couple. Of course, that was before he threw it all away, in an attempt to impress his father.

Pietro groaned and placed the photo face down. He glanced at the digital clock. It was barely two-thirty. Forget it, he thought as he resigned himself to a sleepless night. He did not stay awake for long as light breathing soon filled the room.

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Ten minutes later and about a good two miles away, Kitty was stroking Alex's hair as he snuggled further into his blankets. She gazed lovingly at her son. Her son was the only good thing she had going in her life, despite her parents deciding that Alex was a big mistake.

Unconsciously, she bit her lip. After four years, why did Pietro have to come back? There was a big hullabaloo when Kitty admitted to being pregnant. Logan, Scott, Piotr, Remy and even John had offered to pretend to be the father but she had declined. She stood strong and even took in the insults and hurtful remarks others made about her being a slut for sleeping around.

When Alex was born, she thought it would be fine but she was wrong. How much he screamed and wailed at night, demanding to be fed or a diaper change or just to be held. Kitty remembered that night Wanda, feeling her responsibility as the child's aunt and godmother, took Alex for the night. That was the first night Kitty had more than three hours of sleep and that was the same night Wanda swore never to have children. Kitty had to giggle at that memory.

Alex turned and hugged Lockheed, the stuffed purple dragon Kitty used to own. Kitty smiled at his actions before heading for her own bedroom, desperate for sleep.

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There was the faint clinking of cutlery and the smell of pancakes when Kitty woke up. Three year old Alex was sitting next to her pillow. "Good morning, Alex. Did you sleep well?"

Alex tilted his head slightly as though deep in thought. "Yeah. Grandpa Logan's here." He announced, grinning and showing all his baby teeth.

Kitty smiled and ruffled her son's hair. "Go join him then. Mommy will be out in ten minutes."

When Kitty entered the kitchen, she had to smile. Alex was busy smearing chocolate sauce all over his pancake while Logan sipping his coffee and keeping an eye on the already hyperactive toddler. He looked up and nodded to Kitty. "Morning, half-pint. Got your breakfast ready since I know you can't cook." Logan's mouth twitched as he said that.

Kitty blushed. No matter how well she could cook now, nobody was ever going to let Kitty live down her inability to cook in her teen years. Hell, she couldn't even boil water then. She sat across Logan and began eating. "So, half-pint, when you going to tell me that Maximoff visited you last night?"

Damn, she was busted. Kitty looked at Alex who was happily licking his fingers clean of chocolate. The only one who would have told Logan would be her own son. Kitty looked down at her lap before facing Logan. "He turned up last night. We talked a little bit when the little one made his appearance."

Logan chuckled a bit before replying, "The kid's like his dad. Always one for grand entrances. So what happened then?"

"Nothing," Kitty answered truthfully, "I mean, he was shocked and that practically killed any conversation we were having. Then I asked him to leave. End of story, Logan."

Logan frowned. He knew there was probably more to the story but if Kitty wasn't ready to say, then he wouldn't push her. His gaze fell to his 'grandson'. What would Pietro want with Kitty and their son?

Kitty was asking herself the same question. Did she want Pietro in Alex's life? Does she even want Pietro in HER life?

"Hey, half-pint. I gotta make a move but John said he'll drop by later if he can. Watch out for the kid and yourself. I don't trust the Maximoff kid." Logan said, standing up and chuckled again as Alex squirted chocolate sauce over himself.

Kitty nodded as he mussed up Alex's hair before kissing her forehead, like a father- she thought. Unlike someone who ran away, she seethed angrily as she started clearing up the mess Alex had made.

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A pair of hands covered her eyes, Kitty stiffened. "Hey, sheila." Someone whispered into her ear.

Kitty relaxed and phased out of John's grasp. "Hi, uncle Pyro!" Alex greeted as Kitty tied up his shoelaces.

"I'll take him," John told Kitty before turning his attention to Alex, "Hey, mate. Where's mommy bringing ya now?"

Alex stared at John. "The park, silly. Mommy brings me there every Saturday afternoon."

John turned and faced Kitty, an eyebrow raised. "Sarcasm at his age? I think I'm going to die of shock."

Kitty giggled as John picked Alex and put him on his shoulders. "Up ya go, little tyke. You've got a horse to ride there now."

"No, I don't," Alex replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "I only got a ride from you and that's boring."

Mother and son's laughter rang through the air before John and Alex started a childish argument which in Kitty's opinion was extremely amusing to watch as she slipped her arm into John's as they set off together to the park.

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Pietro watched as Pyro left together with Kitty and Alex. He was boiling with jealousy. Who did that Australian maniac think he was, making a move on Kitty? It seemed like Alex was very close to that pyromaniac as well. Had he been replaced?

Nails digging deep into his palms, Pietro zoomed off in his convertible. He needed to see someone for answers and he knew the very person who would tell him.

Less than ten minutes later, Pietro was back at the Brotherhood house. He had to snicker at Lance's appearance. His thick, black hair was disheveled, his eyes glazed with sleep, Lance yawned before letting Pietro in.

"It's been too long, Pietro." He muttered.

"We're getting old," Pietro smirked, "I didn't see you last night."

Lance tossed him a look. "I was working."

Pietro nodded, remembering Wanda telling him that Lance did the night shift at the local mechanics which helped pay his tuition fees at the local college.

Lance yawned again. "Look, let's not beat around the bush. I know you came to see about something and it isn't concerning my welfare so get to it."

Pietro raised an eyebrow. Apparently, Lance did pick up some tact since Pietro had left. "I want to know about Kitty." He paused, to watch Lance's reaction, "Since I left."

Lance's eyes clouded with an emotion Pietro could not identify before he started. "Well, she was pretty crushed. I mean, she wakes up one day and you're gone. You were her emotional pillar, and when you left, she took it really hard. She withdrew from everyone for two weeks or so before she finally confessed to Rogue about everything."

"Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit, Pyro and I offered to pretend to be the father but she rejected it. She said it was complicated. It was a real pity though, especially in school. I remembered the cheerleaders calling her a whore, first time I saw Wanda and Rogue as a team, they attacked the cheerleaders." Lance stopped as though reminiscing.

Pietro waited patiently but seeing that Lance was not about to continue any time soon, he prodded him. "What about the Pyro fellow?"

"Oh, him. Yeah. The Acolytes moved in with the X-Men about a month after you left. They claimed Mags was gone and they only wanted shelter. That's when it gets really weird. It was kind of surprising. He and Kitty get along fine. Too well, if you asked me. Back to the point, Pyro, Gambit, Wolverine, Rogue, Wanda and Kitty became really close. I think it was because they were all concerned about Kitty and her baby then."

"When Alex was born, Kitty named Gambit and Pyro as the godfathers, Rogue and Wanda as his godmothers. Wolverine became his unofficial grandparent, seeing that her family refused to see the child and she wasn't about to tell Mags about Alex. He's a good kid. I saw him a couple of weeks ago during Gambit and Rogue's wedding. He was the ring bearer, absolutely charming."

Lance finally stopped looking at Pietro. His friend looked miserable. Pietro looked at Lance. "I screwed it up. I should never have left, it was all because of my desire to please my father, that I forgot what was important to me. I think she hates me now, Lance."

Lance got up and strode to the window. He looked out but not really seeing anything. "What do you expect? You broke her heart, Pietro. Did you think that upon seeing you, she'll kiss and make love to you and you two will live happily ever after? This isn't a goddamn after school show, man. She's moved on, and maybe you should too."

Pietro silently exited. Judging from Lance's look, he knew that Lance was still in love with Kitty. He should not have asked from Lance. Lance had hated Pietro so much when Pietro went steady with Kitty, even more so when he found out that they had slept together after being together for a year.

Then again, Lance did make sense. Pietro threw away everything he had that night he ran away. He lost his friends, their trust and most importantly, he lost Kitty. This was his own fault. Pietro clenched his fists, he was going to try and win Kitty back.

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i know, this isn't the most original idea but it kinda got stuck in my head so i'm gonna continue with it. i'm so addicted with x-men evo!


	3. Coming back to haunt her

"Mon chérie, are you okay?" Remy asked.

Rogue glared at him. "Ah am nine months pregnant and ya asking meh whether Ah'm fahne?"

"Merde. Remy never thought you would act like dis, fille." Remy told her.

"Screw yourself, swamp rat." Rogue said, folding her arms and turning her gaze to the television.

There was a knock on the door and for the first time, Remy actually scrambled to answer the door. He practically sighed in relief as he ushered them in. "Petit! You bringing de jeune. Remy is his parrain, he'll will be taken care of. You go talk with de jeunes marraine."

Kitty giggled as Remy all but threw Alex on his shoulder and ran upstairs into Remy's study. According to John and Wanda, Remy had been terrorized by Rogue ever since Rogue announced she was pregnant.

Kitty entered the sitting room where she found Rogue trying to bend down and pick up the remote control. "Rogue!" Kitty snatched up the remote control and gently helped Rogue back into her seat, "You should be resting and not doing anything."

"Now Ah know how ya felt when you were pregnant. Dis is da pits!" Rogue grumbled.

Kitty laughed. "I guess it was but after I gave birth to Alex, I felt that everything I had gone through was nothing. He was and still is the apple of my eye."

Rogue smiled. Three years ago, the Professor and Dr. McCoy found a way to switch off her power and implanted the chip in her brain. Although she had to step down from the X-Men, Rogue loved every minute of it. She didn't have to be afraid of physical touches. It got even better when she and Remy got married two years later. Even though she wouldn't admit, she felt great when she first found out she was pregnant.

Her dreams might seem simplistic to others but for a girl who had been unable to even hold another person's hand without almost killing them, these accomplishments were wonderful.

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Kitty hummed a tune as she prepared the coffee. She strained her ears to hear any sound of Alex and Remy but she couldn't hear anything. She turned back to the coffee when she heard a gasp from the sitting room.

Coffee abandoned, Kitty rushed to the sitting room. Rogue's breathing was labored as her eyes looked around. "Rogue?" Kitty asked uncertainly.

"My waters have broken. Get Remy." Rogue whispered.

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"Ah'm gonna kill you, swamp rat!" Rogue said through clenched teeth as another wave of pain hit her.

Remy winced as Rogue's grip on his hand tightened. "Relax, ma bijou."

Rogue's eye twitched once, twice as Remy knew she was about to yell at him. "If ya think that pushing tha baby out of meh is easy then YOU give birth to it."

Remy chuckled at the idea. "Maybe in Remy's next life, chérie. But for now, I know you can do it, Cher."

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"Remy be a father." Remy repeated, shocked.

"You already said four times, Uncle Remy." Alex observed.

"Oui. But Remy never ever imagine about this. Remy, ma femme and ma bébé." Remy told him, ruffling Alex's hair.

Alex grabbed his hand. "You talk funny. 'Sides, you already have me, why do you want another? Especially since it's a girl. Yuck." Alex made a face.

Rogue, who was holding her newborn daughter, and Kitty, who was sitting on the edge of Rogue's bed making the appropriate cooing and comments, laughed at Alex's remark. They watched as Remy tried to think of a reply. "Well, jeune, look at it this way. Remy will 'ave one garçon and one fille.'

'So what are you going to call the baby ?" Kitty asked both of them, excitedly.

Rogue looked down at the baby. Blonde-brown fuzz covered the baby's head. Her daughter was a mix of both her and Remy. "Rosemarie." Remy's voice cut through her thoughts.

Remy did not meet her eyes as he looked down to listen what Alex was talking about. Rogue smiled. Bitter rose. For some reason, it seemed appropriate to call their daughter that. "Yeah. I like that." Rogue murmured to Rosemarie.

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An hour later, both John and Wanda had come down to see the newborn baby. Logan, unsurprisingly, was currently out when Remy had called the Xavier Institute about the good news.

Right now, both mother and child were asleep. They had decided to go out for dinner together before heading back to their respective homes.

John, who was more than a little drunk, decided to toast to Remy. "Cheers for a wonderful wife and beautiful baby girl." He slurred before Wanda chastised him for making a din in the restaurant.

Kitty and Remy watched amused before Kitty tore her gaze to look at Alex who was deep in thought. "What's the matter, Alex?" Kitty asked, placing her hand on his arm.

Alex looked up, his face troubled. "How come Rosemarie has a mommy and daddy but I only have you?"

The atmosphere at the table suddenly became somber. Kitty sat there shocked. She had expected her son would ask about it and had actually prepared an answer but now, it was like she had forgotten everything.

"Jeune, you do have a père somewhere but he is just not here now." Remy tried to explain, awkwardly.

"No, he's not." Wanda cut in.

The two men looked at her before turning to Kitty flabbergasted. "Wait, I'll pay the bill then we," John looked at Remy, taking charge of the situation, "can take the sheilas and Alex back to Kitty's place."

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It has been too long. Kitty thought as she finally took out the two photo albums she had kept away. Alex was waiting to see the pictures of his daddy while Wanda explained everything to Remy and John.

She sighed. She had tucked away her memories of Pietro and had hoped that in time she would be able to forget about him but it seemed like fate was against her. She quickly walked out of her bedroom, resigned to her current situation.

It wasn't too bad, Kitty had to admit. Alex's curiosity was satisfied after Kitty, with some help from Wanda, John and Remy, told him everything there was from how Kitty and Pietro got together to the abrupt end of their relationship. Alex had asked a few questions but Kitty had been unable to answer one or two.

At the moment, the adults were talking softly as Alex perused the photo albums again, fascinated by the mutants who were using their power. Finally, he stood up and walked over to the couch where John and Kitty were seated. "Hey mate." John acknowledged the little face that peeped over the armrest of the couch.

Kitty looked over at her son. "I'm tired." Alex announced.

"Attendre. I'll take him, petit. You can rest." Remy said before Kitty could get up and help the toddler back into bed.

When Alex was out of earshot, John looked at Kitty. "What are you going to do, sheila?"

Kitty sighed. "I thought I could keep him away from Pietro but it's clear that Alex needs a father, even if I don't want Pietro around. Wanda, do you suppose you could arrange for Pietro to meet Alex?" Kitty asked hopefully, she did not want to talk to Pietro.

Wanda nodded, seeing her friend's uneasiness over her brother. "Considered it done, Kitty."

John grinned. "Great, now that's settled," His face turned serious, "You may hate him, Kitty. But you can't deny Pietro the right of seeing his son and you can't let Alex grow up not knowing his father. You are doing the right thing."

Kitty nodded, and tried to smile. "I know, John," Her face turned apologetic; "I've kinda had a long day."

Wanda and John got the hint. "Hey, it's late and I need a ride back. I'll get Remy. Goodbye sheila." John said, giving Kitty a kiss on the cheek before striding into Alex's room to collect Remy.

Wanda looked awkwardly at Kitty before giving her a hug. "He may be a jerk but he didn't do it on purpose, Kitty. You know that."

Kitty felt the sadness well up inside her as she escorted Wanda, Remy and John to the door. "I know. Good night, Wanda. John, Remy."

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Authoress- Hmmm. I feel that it's missing something and I'll try figure what it's missing as soon as possible. Sorry no Pietro this chapter. I'm posting this early coz I'll be away until next Thursday. Hopefully I will have written out chapter 4 by then.


	4. The unwanted answer

jean- i know,i'm sorry. i was suppose to get this chapter up by thursday but i had a total brainwave and decided to change the plot. my mind's twisted, it doesnt keep to one idea. eh, here's to hoping you'll enjoy the story. thanks to those who reviewed. -smiles-

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Wanda twirled the telephone cord round her finger as she waited patiently for the other person to pick up. She glanced at the photo on the mantel frame. Wanda gave a rare smile. The photo was taken on Alex's first birthday.

His birthday was held on the grounds on the Institute which meant a lot of noisy, hungry teenagers. The picture was taken just before a full-scale food fight had started. That day also marked the official day that Remy and Rogue finally announced their relationship to the others.

There was a click as the recipient of the phone call finally picked up. "Hello?"

"Hello, Pietro Maximoff speaking." A business-like, no nonsense voice answered.

"Pietro, Wanda here." Wanda started, "I'm calling on behalf of Kitty."

Wanda stopped when she heard him scrabbling around for something. "Hello?"

The scrabbling sound stopped. "Sorry. I was on the speakerphone." He coughed, trying to sound casual, "What were you talking about?"

"Well, Kitty wanted to arrange for you and Alex to meet. She thinks it's best that Alex have and know his dad."

"Oh," He sounded hopeful, "Okay. I would like to get to know Alex too. Is this Thursday okay? I don't have any meetings scheduled then."

Wanda hesitated. She knew that Kitty was free then but Kitty never mentioned when she wanted Pietro to meet Alex. She made a quick decision then. "Then it's settled. You can meet them at their apartment. Goodbye Pietro."

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"Why did I agree to this?" Kitty asked John for the hundredth time.

His attention diverted to his lighter, John did not reply immediately. "It's because you're a good mother and do not want to deny Alex his right to know his father despite how much you don't want to."

Kitty swallowed a mouthful of coffee, thinking of possible excuses to get out of meeting Pietro. She had intended to drop Alex off at the Brotherhood and let Pietro and Alex bond with each other until evening when she would pick Alex up but Alex was adamant that his mother would accompany him and his daddy. If she didn't know better, she would say that her son was trying to set her up.

She glanced at the clock. "I'm going to shower. Keep an eye on Alex, John." She warned him.

John immediately flicked the lighter closed and stuffed it into his pocket. He ambled into Alex's room where Alex was lying on his stomach, rolling his toy truck back and forth.

John was playing with Alex when the doorbell rang. At first, John ignored it, thinking Kitty would answer the door but when the doorbell rang again, he got up to answer it, Alex behind him.

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Pietro stood outside the door, he heard footsteps. He was actually nervous. He didn't know what to expect from Alex or Kitty. He had been surprised by Wanda's phone call that he had knocked over the papers he was reading.

He had jumped at the chance to see Kitty that he never thought what he was going to do during the little bonding session with Alex. He knew so little about Alex, what were they going to talk about?

The door opened and revealed Pyro, Alex clutching his leg. Pietro scowled at Pyro as Pyro let him in. "What are you doing here?" Pietro asked rudely.

Pyro was about to retort when he was interrupted. "Oh, Pietro, I wasn't expecting you to come yet. Take a seat first; I'll be back in a few minutes. John, could you, like, come here for a second?"

Pietro stared at Kitty. Her hair was twisted into a loose bun, a few strands framing her face and she was clad in a bathrobe, Pietro gulped. This was definitely unexpected. He felt jealous as John followed Kitty into her room.

Pietro's heart sank. Was what Lance suspected true? Was Kitty and Pyro together? Even if it were, Alex did not look affected by it.

Speaking of Alex, the young boy had latched onto Pietro and was chattering away nonstop. Pietro knelt down, face to face with Alex. "Were would you like to go out for lunch?"

Alex looked unsure, biting his lip –an action that strongly reminded Pietro of Kitty. "Well… Mommy and I always go over to Grandpa Xavier's house for lunch coz Mommy needs to go to work after that and I stay there 'til Mommy comes back."

Pietro chuckled as Alex took a deep breath after he had rushed to reply Pietro's question. Maybe his powers did rub off Alex. Alex tilted his head sideways, looking at Pietro. Unsure of what to do, Pietro continued kneeling in front of Alex, straining to hear any sound from Kitty's room.

"Grandpa Logan and Uncle Remy and John were right." Alex declared.

Pietro turned to face his son. Grandpa Logan? He had to stifle a snicker at the way the boy said it. "What?"

Alex looked impatient. "You know," Alex made a 'snickt' sound as he clenched his fist, "He's my grandpa."

"No. I mean, what do you mean that Grandpa Logan's right?" Pietro asked, his attention now focused on his son.

"They said that one day my daddy would come back. Mommy never talks about you. Uncle John says." Alex stopped abruptly and ran and buried his face in his mother's leg.

Pietro got up. John had stepped out of Kitty's room, his facial expression unreadable. John nodded at him before he left the apartment. Kitty managed to untangle her son from her leg and turned to face Pietro.

"I'm sorry, Pietro. I know the original plan was for you and Alex to spend the afternoon but he's a little," She mentally searched for the right word, "_clingy_. I guess it leaves me no choice but to follow you two. I hope you don't mind?" Kitty watched Pietro for his reply.

Pietro was, in fact, pleased. He didn't mind Kitty joining them. "It's no problem. In fact that's probably better since you would know what Alex would like to do." Pietro answered smoothly.

Kitty smiled, her face guarded. "I did promise him that you would take him to MacDonald's."

Pietro nodded. "That's easy enough. Come on, Alex." Pietro extended his hand to Alex.

Alex immediately scrabbled at his mother's jeans and looked up at her, eyes wide with terror, the most adorable pout on his face. Kitty sighed, rolling her eyes as she picked Alex up. "I'm really sorry, Pietro. I have no idea what has gotten into Alex. He normally is very chatty and not the least bit shy. Maybe the fact of having you as his father is too new to him."

As Kitty carried Alex out of the apartment, Alex buried his head in the crook of his mother's neck. As they walked to the car, Alex finally looked straight ahead at Pietro who was walking behind Kitty. Alex quickly stuck his tongue out at Pietro before burying his face into Kitty's neck again.

Pietro stopped suddenly. Of all the nerve of this little boy, he had been tricked. Alex had shown him the other side of himself, a side his mother probably didn't know about. If he knew any better, he was sure that Wolverine and Pyro were behind this and Alex had been more than willing to participate.

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One lunch meal later, Pietro found himself on the receiving end of Kitty's glare and his hands full of a hyper three year old boy. "I said I was sorry." Pietro said, his hands in mock surrender.

Kitty continued glaring at him. "Every Tom, Dick and Harry knows better than to give a kid sugar!"

"I only gave him one." Pietro started.

"You gave him cotton candy plus you bought caramel popcorn and chocolates for him when we went to watch the movie." Kitty interrupted, her eyes daring him to deny the facts.

Pietro winced at her annoyed tone. "Okay, okay. There's a playground nearby right? Let him exhaust himself there then."

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Pietro watched as Kitty mopped Alex's sweaty face. She kissed him softly on the forehead before sending him off to play again. He felt a little pang. Had he not left, he and Kitty would still be together and Alex might have another sibling or just be spoilt rotten.

Kitty flopped back down next to him. "Just looking at Alex having fun and I wish I was three all over again." Pietro admitted.

Kitty looked at him curiously. She had been trying to avoid conversation with Pietro until now. "Why?"

Pietro glanced at Alex who was happily swinging himself. "Not to have a care in the world. Nothing too trivial to worry about, the biggest worry would probably be whether there would be veggies for dinner. No idea what's going about in the world –conflicts, mutants, war, something I won't care about."

Kitty was silent as she registered what he had said. "You do have some good points. I mean, no responsibilities, nothing! To have Mom and Dad to protect you from anything and everything that's even the littlest bit frightening. That sounds like a dream you know."

Pietro chuckled before turning serious again. "But I don't mind. If I really were three, I would never have met you. Kitty, I…"

Kitty's face suddenly looked pained. "Please no. Pietro, I spent four years alone, I was so sure I was over you. Don't make this difficult for me."

Pietro felt like someone had just stabbed him. "Difficult, why? Is there someone else in the picture already? It's that Pyro fellow isn't it, Lance told me about him. I knew he always was against me." Pietro clenched his fists.

"No, no. It's nothing like that. Oh, Pietro, you need to listen first." Kitty put her hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.

Pietro fell silent, waiting for her explanation. Maybe it's time to listen from the right person instead of getting different opinions from the people around.

Kitty licked her dry lips as she tried to start from the beginning. "It came as a shock that day I received your letter. I had gone to the doctor's the day before and after he confirmed my pregnancy, I actually felt happy and had planned to share the news with you. Then Tabby comes and delivers your letter and it was like my world crashed."

"I spent two weeks in denial before Logan finally heard about it and he rushed back from wherever he was to give me a pep talk. It was afterwards that I confessed to him then Rogue about my pregnancy. Thinking we could find out more about where you'd gone, we approached Wanda. She was surprisingly nice and she took the role as Alex's aunt seriously."

Pietro was about to ask something when she smiled before continuing.

"We had gone on a mission when I was attacked. John and Piotr had saved me there but I almost lost the baby then, I was injured pretty badly. It was then that I finally openly admitted I was pregnant."

Kitty quickly scanned the playground for her son before turning back to Pietro. "The gang, that's Wanda, Rogue, Remy, John and Logan, were really supportive. I mean, some people from school knew about Alex and they called me all sorts of horrid words but they stuck up for me. The moment my parents refused to accept Alex was when we became family, they stayed up all night with me as I contemplated on aborting Alex."

"When Alex was born, it was totally natural to have one or more of them around. I guess we kind of grew on each other. Remy and Rogue had started dating then, it was very sweet. Logan and Wanda, having the lack of love in their lives, Alex was their precious gift, a bond, someone special to hold dear. Our circle was beginning to close."

Pietro swallowed and asked the question he had been dreading. "What about you and Pyro?"

Kitty's eyes sparkled at that thought. "He asked me out, several times actually, before I finally accepted."

Pietro was speechless for a few minutes before he asked the horrible question. "What about now?"

At this point, Kitty did not look at him. "We're engaged. The wedding's in July." Kitty whispered to him.

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jean- school's startingsoon meaning my mom's gonna ban me from the computer so updates wont be so frequent, sad to say that.Please review!

by the way, coz the plot'sa little different from the original, i think it's time i ask you people for your opinion. Do you want Pietro/Kitty or Pyro/Kitty? Cheers!


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